1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a safety light apparatus which is detachably mountable on a trailered boat. More particularly, the present invention relates to a safety light apparatus which is designed to be mounted on a hub of a propellered motor of the trailered boat.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Personal boats in general are transported over land using trailers which are towed by a motor vehicle. Such trailers generally include rear safety lights, which are electrically connected to the rear lights of the towing vehicle, since trailered boat at least partially, if not totally, obstructs the rear lights of the towing vehicle from the view of following traffic. However, trailers in general are designed to be low-riding, thus providing a low center of gravity for the trailered boat to improve the handling of the trailer and to avoid undue risk of roll-over.
Trailers in general are also designed with a boat supporting structure that allows easy loading of the boat from the rear. This, however, requires that the rear safety lights of the trailer must be mounted at or below the supporting structure so as to avoid interference with loading/unloading of the boat and damage to the rear safety lights or the boat. Typically, the rear safety lights are mounted on each side of the supporting structure, but are still restricted in height since the boat itself is typically wider than the supporting structure of the trailer.
Therefore, the rear safety lights of the trailer are mounted in a relatively low position which is substantially lower than the normal line of sight for most passenger vehicles, and even far lower still than the normal line of sight for larger vehicles such as semi-tractor trailers, busses and some Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs). This imposes a great risk of property damage and personal injury from a failure of following traffic to notice the rear safety lights of the trailer.
The value of rear safety lights which are mounted in a higher position so as to be in the normal line of sight of most vehicles has been recognized for years. Almost all newer vehicles include auxiliary or "third" brake lights which are mounted above the traditional brake lights. However, even such auxiliary brake lights are typically obscured from view by a trailered boat. Thus, there is a need to improve the safety of trailered boats to prevent unnecessary property damage and personal injury.
This need has been recognized by others. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,228 discloses a watercraft which has rear lights incorporated into the rear end thereof which are electrically connected to the brake light system of the towing vehicle. This approach, however, is rather expensive in that it requires the purchase of a new boat with the rear lights installed or the permanent modification of an existing boat to install the rear lights.
Furthermore, this approach is particularly adapted for use with boats having an inboard motor wherein the entirety of the motor structure is installed within the hull of the boat and the propeller is connected at the bottom of the hull. It is not suitable, however, for use with boats having an outboard motor, wherein the entirety of the motor is installed on the rear of the boat extending therefrom, since the additional brake light provided would itself be obscured by the motor housing. Even if the brake light were positioned so as to be visible past the motor housing, the brake light would not be positioned at the rearmost portion of the boat, since the motor extends beyond the boat itself, which does not provide an ideal warning for following vehicles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,591 provides a detachably mountable auxiliary vehicle lighting system which is readily mounted in many situations. However, the system is not particularly well suited for a trailered boat as it is to be mounted below the supporting structure, thus yielding no particular advantage over the known rear safety lights for trailers. Furthermore, as noted above, the mounting of this system is not ideal since the boat itself typically extends beyond the end of the trailer. In particular, with boats having an outboard motor or an inboard outboard motor, wherein the engine structure is mounted within the hull of the boat and part of the motor extends from the rear of the hull, the motor extends even further beyond the trailer.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,870,875 and 5,613,886 provide safety lights that are particularly designed for trailered boats. The 875 patent teaches a cover which is only designed to fit over the part of an inboard outboard motor that extends from the hull of a trailered boat. The cover has an electric tail light mounted near its rear. This cover, however, has many drawbacks. In particular, it is not adapted for use on an inboard motor or an outboard motor and still does not place the safety light at the rearmost portion of the trailered boat since a portion of the motor extends rearward of the light. Additionally, the cover is somewhat cumbersome to use/remove and the light itself is not securely supported by any structure other than the flexible cover.
The 886 patent teaches a safety light apparatus which is permanently affixed to an outside housing of an outboard motor. While the safety light apparatus indeed provides a rear safety light that is mounted higher and is more readily visible to traffic following the boat when trailered, the apparatus entails other drawbacks. In particular, since the apparatus is permanently mounted to the motor, the expenses of modifying an existing motor to install such an apparatus or purchasing a new motor with such an apparatus already installed are encountered. Further, the apparatus is not adapted for use on an inboard motor or an inboard outboard motor and still does not place the safety light at the rearmost portion of the trailered boat since again the lower portion of the motor including the propeller extend rearward of the apparatus.
In as much as the brake lights of a towing vehicle are obscured by a trailered boat, the back-up lights of the towing vehicle are typically even more obscured. Therefore, a need also exists for auxiliary back-up lights for trailered boats to indicate backing-up of the towing vehicle and trailered boat. It is also noted that it is difficult to judge the distance between the rear of the trailered boat and obstructions when backing-up, particularly at night. Thus, enhancement of the driver's vision and judgment would be beneficial.